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What if our thinking about the treatment of this virus is all wrong?
Although counter-intuitive, it may be an overly active immune system that is killing its victims
The history of medicine is replete with treatment breakthroughs that at first glance seemed absurd. Australian pathologist Robin Warren noticed that around 50% of biopsies taken from peptic ulcer patients had colonies of a particular bacteria in the stomach. He therefore postulated that antibiotics could cure peptic ulcer disease. When he presented his data to a meeting of his peers, he was laughed out of the room. Years later he won a Nobel prize for his discovery and was vindicated. Sometimes discoveries are due to serendipity. Penicillin was discovered in 1928 when in the course of cleaning a petri dish , a Scottish bacteriologist noted the lack of bacteria growing near mold in the dish.
Lung failure is the most common cause of death from Covid-19 viral infection. When most patients have respiratory failure from causes other than this virus, mechanical ventilation can be life-saving. However with this virus, the fatality rate once place on a ventilator is thought to be anywhere from 36–97%.(https://www.physiciansweekly.com/mortality-rate-of-covid-19-patients-on-ventilators/). This has caused many to question the utility of this type of treatment for those most ill with the disease. Unproven treatments…
